In addition, the Wildlife Division hosted its first-ever manoomin camp in mid-August to educate employees from the DNR and other state departments on the cultural, spiritual, ecological and economic significance of manoomin to Indigenous communities. Tribal nations have been working for decades to restore manoomin, which became Michigan’s official native grain in 2023.

Fifty-eight people attended the DNR’s two-day manoomin camp at the Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center in Roscommon, where tribal instructors led sessions focused on ceremony and traditional teachings that included harvesting tools, seed care and processing. The instructors represented the BMIC, KBIC, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Cree Nation and Gun Lake Tribe.

“We want to work with our tribal partners whenever we can,” Scullon added. “It’s important to create these types of collaborative opportunities – to tear down barriers and open doors.”

‘The good berry’

Native to the Great Lakes region and parts of Canada, manoomin – which translates to “the good berry” in Ojibwe – is a grain-producing grass. It grows to 6-10 feet tall in the shallow, quiet waters of marshes, inland lakes and slowly moving streams.

Manoomin is a culturally significant plant to the Anishinaabe (Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi) and is directly linked to their migration from the northeastern U.S. coast to the Great Lakes region several hundred years ago, according to Native News Online, an American Indian news publication. In the Great Lakes region, manoomin plays a major role in the Indigenous food sovereignty movement.

Kathleen Smith is with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, where she serves as Genawendang Manoomin – or “She who takes care of the wild rice” – for tribes across Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

“With the continued decline of wild rice across many of our lakes and rivers, I often reflect on the teaching, ‘If we don’t use it, we lose it,’” Smith said. “That truth echoes louder each year. Our wetlands and the manoomin that grows within them are truly important to our people.”

Power of partnerships

In 2025, the Wildlife Division sowed about 2,200 pounds of manoomin seed, continuing its annual efforts to help restore or establish wild rice within state-managed rivers, creeks and wetlands in the U.P. Once manoomin matures in early fall, the rice grains provide energy-rich food for migrating waterfowl and are harvested by Anishinaabe communities.

The DNR obtains wild rice through formal agreements with tribal communities. Through these collaborations, tribal partners request manoomin seed from their network of vendors in Wisconsin and Minnesota, ensuring the wild rice is sourced responsibly, aligning with cultural teachings and ethics.

“We recognized early in the partnership that KBIC has the cultural expertise, historic knowledge and resources to be a guiding partner in this process,” Scullon said. “KBIC, working in conjunction with the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, has the technical knowledge on where, when and how to restore manoomin. They have helped us to select, evaluate, seed and monitor sites for rice restoration.”

DNR wildlife biologists Kristie Sitar, Brian Roell and David Jentoft have played key roles in expanding the partnerships with other tribal nations in the eastern U.P. Sitar helped develop a memorandum of agreement between the DNR and the Bay Mills Indian Community.

“These partnerships are critical in maintaining the quality of rice used and are helpful to us working together to select the most appropriate places and desired efforts,” Sitar said.

Sitar and Roell received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant in 2021 to reestablish wild rice in northern floodings along Lake Superior. The goal was to seed manoomin for three consecutive years at four locations – three in Marquette County and one in Luce County – at a rate of at least 50 pounds per acre in suitable flooding habitats.

“We started to see success as rice seed germinated and grew and then began to self-seed in successive years,” Sitar said. “We had to adapt by dealing with some wildlife browse issues that commonly occur during this process. Wild rice can take many years to become established, and we are on our way to hopefully long-term success. “

Scullon noted that in Michigan, anyone can harvest manoomin, while in Wisconsin the practice is illegal for the general public without a permit. The Michigan Wild Rice Initiative – which consists of tribal nations, the DNR and other agencies and groups – is working to develop a cooperative framework to regulate the responsible and ethical harvest of manoomin in Michigan.

Learn more about the history of manoomin in a brochure from the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The fire was reported early Sunday afternoon east of Old U.S. Highway 27, near the Clare–Roscommon county line. The cause remains under investigation.

The fire is estimated to be at approximately 85 acres in a marshy area of mixed pine and hardwood forest, where dry fuels and gusty winds have challenged firefighting efforts.

“Crews have been working through difficult terrain to contain the fire,” said Jeff Vasher, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Lower Peninsula resource protection manager. “High winds have made suppression challenging, but firefighters are holding the lines and continuing to reinforce containment.”

Resources on scene include DNR firefighters, local fire departments, bulldozers, fire engines and drone aircraft support being used for aerial mapping and situational awareness. The DNR urges the public to avoid the area while crews continue suppression operations.

Across northern Michigan, fire danger remains high to very high, driven by warm temperatures, low humidity and extremely dry vegetation. Open burning is not advised, and residents are asked to use extreme caution with any outdoor heat or spark sources.

“We are currently experiencing severe drought conditions across the mid-to-lower peninsula,” added Paul Rogers, DNR fire prevention specialist. “While there is some chance of rain tonight and tomorrow, expected rainfall amounts will not be enough to ease the drought or reduce the overall fire danger.”

Burn permits were suspended Friday, Oct. 3, to help prevent additional wildfires under these increasingly dry conditions. The DNR strongly urges residents to refrain from any outdoor burning until conditions improve.

For updates, fire safety information, and prevention tips, visit Michigan.gov/FireManagement.

“Wood borer” is a general term for beetles that lay eggs on or in the bark of trees. When eggs hatch, these insects spend their larval stages tunneling into and feeding on wood, destroying tissues that move sap and water through the tree.

Many wood borers are native and seek out weakened trees. Others, such as invasive emerald ash borer and the Asian longhorned beetle (found in nearby states), infest healthy trees and cause their decline and death.

Wood borer eggs and larvae can remain in wood after trees die. Because they often are under bark or within the wood itself, they can go unnoticed until they emerge as adults. A Michigan study of 1,045 firewood pieces transported by the public indicated 23% contained live borers and an additional 41% showed evidence of previous borer infestation.

Adelgids are small, soft-bodied insects that feed on coniferous plants like pines or firs using piercing/sucking mouthparts. Agencies and partners in Michigan’s Invasive Species Program are working hard to prevent the spread of hemlock woolly adelgid in west Michigan. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is managing balsam woolly adelgid in areas of Clare, Missaukee and Oceana counties.

Adelgids are hard to see with the naked eye and are usually detected by the small, white, cottony tufts they spin to protect their eggs. Over time, hemlock and balsam woolly adelgids can kill their host trees by depleting sap and preventing its circulation.

For many Michiganders, spongy moths (formerly gypsy moths) and their munching caterpillars are all too familiar. While female moths can’t fly, they easily spread across the state by depositing egg masses on vehicles, outdoor equipment and firewood, which are then moved around by people.

With invasive spotted lanternfly now present in areas of southeast Michigan, the same scenario is likely to play out again unless we all take the time to look for and remove egg masses from belongings and adopt safe firewood practices.

• Aged or seasoned wood is not safe to move. Just because it is dry doesn’t mean it’s clean. A recent study showed insects continued to emerge from firewood even three years after it had been cut.
• Buy firewood near where you will burn it – a good rule of thumb is only using wood that was cut within 50 miles of where you’ll have your fire.
• Certified, heat-treated firewood is safe to move long distances. Look for a federal stamp or seal on the package, and keep the firewood in the original packaging if entering a campground that requires heat-treated wood.
• If you buy firewood and don’t burn it all, don’t bring it home or to your next destination.
• Tell your friends not to bring wood with them – everyone needs to know they should not move firewood.